Ritual household deposits and the religious imaginaries of early medieval Dalmatia (Croatia)

Abstract

This paper examines three early medieval ritual house deposits from Bribirska glavica, Dalmatia, Croatia. Discovered over the last century these items bring to the fore questions regarding the relationship between state and secular religion in a region that experienced numerous encounters and confrontations within and between different social groups. In particular, this paper explores these complexities using the term 'religious imaginaries' to describe how a sense of collective identity may manifest itself through individual and collective practice, focusing on the value of the discovered objects (chickens, eggs, whetstones and plant remains) and their ritual framings. In particular, the recovery of archaeobotanical remains highlights the importance of examining plant use in ritual deposits. Overall, despite some variation in the interpretations of the practice of 'special' offerings, the majority of studies draw the conclusion that items hidden in this manner provide a broadly protective or apotropaic function. Thus, these finds provide important insights into the development of religious and ritual beliefs in early medieval Dalmatia, suggesting that the community's religious imaginary comprised a set of values and symbols that hybridised the Christian faith with elements of 'folk magic' to re-inforce the apotropaic power of their ritual acts.

Vernacular Architecture of Buginese:

“…That is, if you build a house, the principle is to ensure that during the day, the shadow is not trampled upon because stepping on it causes loss of life spirit and frequent sickness. (Informant, Sanro-Bola & House-owner, 2018-2019 According to the interviews, the orientation of the Bugis house to the west with the entrance also installed to face west (Bugis: diaja) is believed to be good because it is oriented toward Qibla (Bugis: dioloi kibla'E), which is the focal point of Islamic Ummah when praying. Likewise, a house oriented to the south with the entrance facing the same direction (Bugis: diattang) was also found to be good because, according to the Bugis Bone perspective, "no'ki ri atuwongengnge," it brings a comfortable experience.…”

“…Therefore, the house is expected to be a reflection of the occupants. For example, Broadbent (1980), Howell (2013), Akil and Osman (2017), and Reed (2019) have reported the concept of space in a traditional or customary house to be a form of expression of identity and local cultural entities. This means the Bugis house, or Bola-Ugi, physically realized vertically on the stage as a form of local culture, reflects the natural conditions and culture of the Bugis people (Wasilah & Hildayanti, 2017;Naing, Hadi, & Djamereng, 2018;Artiningrum & Sukmajati, 2017).…”